Shark hooked in same spot man was bitten

A SHARK was this morning caught and released where a man was attacked near Ballina yesterday.

A Department of Primary Industries spokeswoman said this was not the shark involved in the attack, in which an East Ballina man was left with a leg wound.

"The DPI contractors did catch a white shark today but this was a different animal," she said.

"The shark involved in yesterday's incident was estimated to be 2.6 metres in size while the shark caught on the SMART drumline this morning was 2.88 metres in size."

She said their tracking data showed sharks sometimes travel more than 100km per day and tend not to remain in any one location.

"Once a shark is tagged, it is released approximately 1km offshore," she said,

"Recent tracks from tagged sharks shows that sharks usually head further offshore after release, minimising the threat of an interaction with water users."

She said the DPI had not ruled out the return of shark nets to the North Coast, depending on community sentiment.

A DPI spokeswoman said the State Government would "put the nets back in at any time if there is sufficient evidence of an increase in shark activity or a change in community sentiment".

"Public safety is the number one priority for the NSW Government when it comes to shark mitigation," she said.

"There is no one solution or silver bullet when it comes to mitigating the risks of sharks to beach users, which is why the NSW Government uses several innovative approaches including SMART drumlines, aerial surveillance and VR4G listening stations to provide the most effective shark attack mitigation measures at NSW beaches.

"DPI continues to trial these measures in consultation with coastal communities to increase protection for beach-goers, reduce environmental impacts, and maximise community acceptance and ownership of shark mitigation."